Delineating Tiwanaku's Mountain Meridian
Written by Ashley Cowie. First published 08 September 2016 - republished 11 November 2024.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6872-4759Abstract: This study unveils new perspectives on the territorial planning, orientations, and alignments of Tiwanaku’s monumental pyramid, enclosures, and semi-sunken temples, revealing a previously unexplored architectural schema. Central to this investigation is the concept of an uncharted prime meridian, or "mountain axis," which likely guided Tiwanaku’s architects, builders, and priests in aligning the city’s sacred structures with a prominent mountain summit to the south. This discovery highlights the city's sophisticated grasp of sacred geography and ritual space, offering deeper insight into the complex cultural and cosmological systems that shaped Tiwanaku's unique urban landscape.
Keywords: Tiwanaku. Territorial planning. Architectural alignments. Prime meridian. Sacred geography. Ritual space. Monumental pyramid. Semi-sunken temples. Mountain-axis. Cosmological systems. Urban landscape. Tiwanaku architects.
Tiwanaku Rising
The region surrounding Lake Titicaca, located at the northern end of the Altiplano basin in the high Andes, has been a hub of human settlement for over 4,000 years. By 1500 BCE, a small agricultural community had emerged about 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the southern shores of the lake, which later developed into the city of Tiwanaku, located in present-day Bolivia.
At an elevation of 3,850 meters (12,600 feet) above sea level, Tiwanaku became the highest urban center in the ancient world. In 1549, Spanish conquistador Pedro Cieza de León became the first European to encounter the site while searching for the southern Inca capital of Qullasuyu. He documented his observations of Tiwanaku's monumental architecture, including the Akapana pyramid, the stepped platforms of Akapana East and Pumapunku, the Kalasasaya, Kheri Kala, and Putin enclosures, as well as the Semi-Subterranean Temple. [1]
Figure 1. Kalasasaya ritual complex at Tiwanaku, constructed around 200 AD, is a prominent archaeological site and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. CC by-SA 3.0.
The dating of Tiwanaku became a subject of significant archaeological debate in the early 20th century, following the work of Arthur Posnansky (1873–1946), an engineer, explorer, and archaeologist. Posnansky's interpretation of the archaeoastronomy and architectural alignments led him to erroneously conclude that the site was between 11,000 and 17,000 years old. However, based on more recent archaeological evidence, it is clear that Tiwanaku emerged as a prominent trading center by 200 BCE, covering an area of approximately 10 square kilometers (6 square miles). By 600 CE, the Tiwanaku Empire had expanded dramatically, encompassing a vast region of around 600,000 square kilometers (231,000 square miles). [2]
The monumental architecture of Tiwanaku, including the colossal pyramid, enclosed courtyards, and towering statues, reflects distinct phases of cultural development within the region. As detailed in John Wayne Janusek’s Ancient Tiwanaku (2008), the earliest structures at the site, such as the Semi-Subterranean Temple and the Kalasasaya platform mound with its adjoining courtyard, were constructed between 200 BCE and 200 CE. The Akapana pyramid, one of the site’s most famous features, was built later, between 300 and 700 CE, while the Pumapunku platform mound was completed after 536 CE. These monumental structures not only signify key periods in the architectural development of Tiwanaku but also highlight the city’s growing cultural and political significance in the Andean world. [3]
Figure 2. Monolith with the Akapana pyramid in the background, possibly symbolizing the race of stone giants from Andean creation myths, a key element in pan-Andean mythology believed to have populated the world. CC By-SA 3.0
Long before the construction of ritual sites around 200 BCE, the Tiwanaku farming settlement was strategically organized with its main agricultural and trade routes aligned around a central grid, culminating in the core of La Plaza Central de Tiwanaco (The Central Plaza of Tiwanaku). This unique plaza, loosely oriented along north-south and east-west axes, is bordered by a moat on three sides and, symbolically, by Lake Titicaca to the fourth, making it the only “closed plaza” within the former Viceroyalty of Peru. As Paul Goldstein notes in Tiwanaku Temples and State Expansion (1993), the area surrounding the moat contained mud-brick residential buildings for farmers who oversaw an extensive network of raised-field irrigation systems. Including aqueducts and canals, these systems channeled water from both Lake Titicaca and southern mountain rivers, ensuring agricultural sustainability and fostering population growth. [4]
Figure 3: Tiwanaku’s streets form a grid around a central plaza, which was the original farming settlement before urban expansion at the end of the 2nd century BCE.
In Pre-Columbian Andean culture, plazas were central urban elements within pueblos (villages), facilitating civic, agricultural, and religious gatherings, as well as markets, public rituals, and ceremonial processions. The association of plazas with water is evident across multiple Andean societies, including the Inca civilization of modern-day Peru, the Muisca of Colombia, and the Maya and Aztec civilizations of Central America. In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the term altepetl (meaning "town") translates to "water mountain," indicating a symbolic relationship between water and sacred space. This association is further illustrated in Tiwanaku by the flow of water around and beneath the Akapana pyramid, reflecting the movement of storm water from the surrounding mountains, a design that perhaps aimed to replicate the natural and sacred integration of water within urban and ritual landscapes. [5]
Evolution of the Sun City
Around 200 BCE, the people of Tiwanaku built their first stone structure, the legendary Semi-Sunken Temple. This temple, as described by professors Brian Bauer and Charles Stanish in their 2001 work Ritual and Pilgrimage in the Ancient Andes: The Islands of the Sun and the Moon, is “a square structure approximately 27 meters (89 feet) on each side and accessed by a set of stairs.” The walls of this ritual space are adorned with deity-like beings with impassive faces, elaborate headdresses, and skulls with sunken eye sockets. A unique feature of this temple is its orientation; unlike most Andean structures, the Semi-Sunken Temple is aligned north-south rather than east-west. This building dynamic holds significant meaning and will be discussed later in the article, as it may relate to the findings presented herein. [6]
Figure 5. Built around 200 BCE, the Semi-Subterranean Temple is the oldest ritual space at Tiwanaku. CC By-SA 3.0
The Tiwanaku civilization, between 100 BCE and 100 CE, initiated a second significant architectural project, choosing a location strategically positioned westward of the earlier residential compounds belonging to the elite. This newly consecrated area became the site of the Kalasasaya - a monumental platform mound and courtyard containing a sunken temple. This complex, encompassing approximately 120 by 130 meters (394 feet by 427 feet), is defined by high, enclosing stone walls and a sophisticated gateway that demarcates it as a sacred enclosure. Researcher Luis Guillermo Lumbreras’ book, Tiwanaku and Its Art: A Study of an Ancient Andean Civilization (1987), explains that the Kalasasaya primarily served an observational function; its interior features alternating sandstone columns and embedded carved stone heads, suggesting its use in astronomical alignments and ceremonial events (Figure 6). [7]
Dominating the center of the platform is the Ponce Monolith, a towering 3.5-meter (11.5 feet) sculpture whose iconography implies a divine, priestly, or royal identity. Depicted holding a staff and a kero (ceremonial beaker), this figure is emblematic of Tiwanaku's socio-religious structure and its integration of ritual objects (Figure 6). The architectural and iconographic elements of the Kalasasaya reveal the Tiwanaku's sophisticated engagement with cosmology, underscoring the platform's dual role as both a ritual center and a site for celestial observation.
Figure 6. The Kalasasaya dates to between 200 BCE - 200 CE and is located to the north of the Akapana and west of the Semi-Subterranean Temple. CC By-SA 3.0.
In the northwest corner of the expansive courtyard, 19th-century explorers uncovered the famed Gate of the Sun - a monumental monolithic stone arch dated to between 500 and 950 CE. Measuring approximately three meters (9.8 feet) in height and four meters (13 feet) in width, the Gate of the Sun weighs an estimated 10 tons (20,000 pounds). When rediscovered, it was found lying horizontally, fractured along its structure, and although the arch presently stands at the site where it was uncovered, evidence suggests that this was not its original location, indicating it may have been repositioned at some point in its history. [8]
Figure 7: 1903 photograph of Tiwanaku’s ‘Gate of the Sun’ carved with an image of an Andean ruler or god holding two staffs, or lightening bolts. CC By-SA 3.0.
Following the completion of the Kalasasaya around 200 CE, Tiwanaku builders commenced work on the Akapana, a monumental stepped platform pyramid destined to become the civilization's foremost political and ceremonial center (Figure 8). Located within the southeastern moat adjacent to the Kalasasaya, this structure is commonly described by archaeologists as an “artificial pyramid,” with a substantial base spanning approximately 200 meters (656 feet) by 250 meters (820 feet). Constructed from finely cut andesite stone, the Akapana features foundational structures and a central water basin at its summit. Ascending through seven stone terraces, the pyramid reaches a height of 16.5 meters (54 feet), reflecting the architectural sophistication and spiritual prominence embedded in Tiwanaku’s urban design. [9]
Figure 8. The seven-stepped Akapana pyramid, a monumental architectural tribute to the Sun, aligned with the cardinal directions. CC By 2.0.
The ground plan and water basin at the summit of the Akapana pyramid form a stepped symbol that appears frequently in the architectural features and craftsmanship throughout Tiwanaku. Often referred to in modernity as the Andean cross, Inca cross, stepped cross, or chakana, this symbol holds particular significance in Andean cosmology. Catherine J. Allen’s The Inca World: The Political and Cultural Transformation of the Andes (2002) discusses Runasimi, the traditional language of the Inca (modern Quechua), in which this shape is called chaka, meaning "bridge," which signifies the act of crossing or a symbolic passage. Composed of an equal-armed cross overlaid with squares, the symbol, when aligned with the cardinal directions, represents the three spheres, or pachas - the conceptual divisions of Andean cosmology. [9]
In Marc Bermann’s 1997 work Tiwanaku: Ancestors, Authority, and Architecture in the Andes; the upper world, or Hanan Pacha, is the realm of the divine, while Kay Pacha signifies the present world, and Ukhu Pacha represents the lower world. The central void in the symbol is commonly interpreted as the axis mundi, the cosmic axis where the celestial and geographic poles meet symbolically, linking the four cardinal directions. This same pattern is carved into the faces of two massive, 20-ton stone blocks (Figure 9), whose shapes are said to reflect the Chilla-Kimsa Chata mountain range in the south, further reinforcing the connection between the symbolic and natural worlds. [10]
Figure 9. These two 20 ton blocks lie to the north of the Akapana and display a stepped symbol reflecting the shape of the Chilla-Kimsa Chata mountain range in the south. The highest peak, “Kimsa Chata,” lies behind “Quena Chita” on the left. CC By-SA 3.0.
Located outside the moated area to the southwest of the Akapana pyramid are the ruins of Pumapunku (Aymara: puma-door), a monumental complex that archaeologists have dated to post-536 CE. [11] This extensive terraced earthen mound, aligned with the cardinal directions, measures 167.36 meters (549.1 feet) along its north-south axis and 116.7 meters (383 feet) along its east-west axis. The structure features 20-meter (66-foot) wide projections at its northeast and southeast corners, which extend 27.6 meters (91 feet) both to the north and south of the rectangular mound. According to Professor Janusek in Ancient Tiwanaku, "Water seems to have played a central role in the rites that took place on the platform," a conclusion supported by the presence of the Choquepacha spring, located southwest of the site. The spring is encircled by stone conduits, which, as Janusek notes, suggest “the remains of an elaborate water-related construction integral to the site’s ritual functions”. [12]
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Figure 10: The builders of Pumapunku created massive finely-cut polished blocks, the largest of witch is estimated to weigh about 131 metric tons, designed to be bonded using mortar free load-bearing joints. CC By-SA 3.0.
Fundamental Sacred Geography
Andean archaeoastronomy is the study of the astronomical knowledge and practices of ancient Andean cultures, focusing on how celestial phenomena influenced the organization of their landscapes, architecture, and ritual. Civilizations such as the Tiwanaku, the Inca, and their predecessors demonstrated an advanced understanding of the movement of celestial bodies, incorporating this knowledge into their agricultural calendars and religious ceremonies. John E. Staller’s Andean Archaeoastronomy: Sun and Moon in the Pre-Columbian Andes (2001) demonstrates how the orientation of monumental structures, including temples and pyramids, often aligned with significant solar and lunar events such as solstices and equinoxes, crucial for agricultural planning. This alignment is particularly evident in Tiwanaku, where the construction of the Akapana pyramid and other structures adhered to precise astronomical markers, reflecting the civilization’s deep connection to the cosmos. [13]
The people of Tiwanaku ritualized key agricultural dates in both the solar and lunar calendars, developing complex agricultural rituals that are reflected in their religious structures. These buildings reveal that astronomers, geometers, architects, and surveyors possessed a sophisticated understanding of mathematics, including the ratio of pi (π), which defines the relationship between the radius and circumference of a circle. Additionally, it is evident that they were adept in manipulating squares, square roots, and geometric principles related to the triangle. [14] However, these skills were not limited to architecture alone; they extended into the broader urban planning of the region, and into the spatial organization of Tiwanaku.
In the Andean agricultural calendar, the June and December solstices were of paramount importance, and Tiwanaku farmer-builders standing in the central plaza observed the December solstice sun rising at an azimuth of 114.7°. When, in the 3rd century CE, the decision was made to construct a new Sun pyramid, it was located on this solar axis, as illustrated in Figure 11, a decision that reflects their sophisticated understanding of celestial events and their significance in the construction of sacred architecture. Furthermore, research determined the builders measured a distance of precisely one kilometer (0.61 miles), in modern terms, from the centre of the plaza, to determine the center of the pyramid's structure.
Figure 11: From the centre of the Tiwanaku plaza, on the December solstice sunrise, the Sun was watched emerging from behind the Akapana pyramid at 114.7°.
Plotting the centers of four key Tiwanaku structures - the Tiwanaku plaza, Kalasasaya platform mound, Akapana pyramid, and Pumapunku - reveals that, despite their construction in different centuries, they align on the circumference of a circle with a radius of 6.19 kilometers (3.85 miles), or a circumference of approximately 38.89 kilometers (24.17 miles). This spatial arrangement suggests that the earliest structures at Tiwanaku, (constructed between 200 BCE and 200 CE), were deliberately positioned according to a planned geographical framework.
The alignment of these temples reflects the Tiwanaku civilization’s advanced understanding of surveying, geometry, and astronomy used to establish connections between the physical and cosmic realms. This governing circle underscores the cosmological significance embedded in their architectural design, emphasizing the integration of sacred geography, astronomy, and territorial organization in Tiwanaku’s urban planning. Furthermore, this arrangement illustrates the dynastic transmission of architectural heritage, with each successive ruling dynasty building upon the sacred legacy of their predecessors.
Figure 12. The precise centers of the Kalasasaya platform, Tiwankau’s central plaza, the Akapana pyramid and Pumapunku platform all fall on the circumference of a circle.
Establishing such a circle on the land would have posed considerable challenges in the prehistoric era, particularly due to the lack of modern surveying tools and technologies. To achieve such a precise geometric feature across a vast landscape, Tiwanaku's builders would have relied on basic but effective methods of measurement and alignment. Tools such as ropes, posts, stakes, and plumb bobs could have been employed to mark straight lines radiating outwards from a central point. Calibrated ropes, possibly marked with knots or pigments at regular intervals, would have allowed for accurate distance measurements to the circle’s circumference, while posts would define crucial points upon it, which would become stone mega-structures of worship.
In the late 4th century, territorial planners and surveyors at Tiwanaku employed advanced topographic-trigonometric principles to establish the location for the monumental Pumapunku platform. Research revealed that they identified a point precisely 1 kilometer (0.61 miles) from the centres of both the Tiwanaku Plaza and the Akapana pyramid, on the circumference of their ancestral governing circle. This strategic placement of Pumapunku resulted in the formation of an equilateral triangle within the governing circle, with sides measuring approximately 1 kilometer (0.61 miles) each, aligned with remarkable precision - to a variance of 0.05 degrees. (Figure 13).
Figure 13. Circling the triangle was a fundamental process in measurement and construction, marking the initial step in ad-triangulum geometry (building with the triangle). This approach not only served practical architectural purposes but also carried profound esoteric and symbolic significance.
Having outlined the geometric, architectural, and astronomical relationships between Tiwanaku's four primary religious centers, we are now poised to address a central question: why was the vast religious complex of Tiwanaku established at this specific location? Why, in an often arid desert, rather than closer to the fertile shores of the bountiful Lake Titicaca?
The Kimsa Chata Axis Mundi
The concept of a prime meridian served as a crucial organizing principle in ancient landscapes, serving to align human settlements with celestial bodies through a central horizontal cosmological axis. Historically, surveyors established north-to-south meridian lines from prominent high points, forming “mountain axes,” that unified the physical landscape with both empirical and mythological dimensions. In the cosmovision of Pre-Colombian South America, mountain summits were revered as the dwellings of gods, goddesses, and heroic figures, representing a vertical “axis mundi,” or universal centre, conceptualized as linking the heavens and the underworld.
As Edwin Bernbaum demonstrates in Sacred Mountains of the World (1997), this phenomenon appears in culturally significant sites across civilizations, including Mount Olympus in ancient Greece, Mount Fuji in Japan, and Mount Zion in Hebrew tradition, each acting as a point of convergence between terrestrial and divine realms. [15] Charles Mann’s New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus describes this axis as serving as “the hypothetical center of a geocentric model, symbolizing the celestial sphere’s rotation around Earth’s central polar axis,” integrating terrestrial and cosmological orientations. [16] According to Professor Mircea Eliade, in Symbolism of the Center (1991):
Mountains are the nearest thing to the sky, and are thence endowed with a twofold holiness: on one hand they share in the spatial symbolism of transcendence - they are ‘high’, ‘vertical’, ‘supreme’, and so on - and on the other, they are the special domain of all hierophanies of atmosphere, and therefore, the dwelling of gods. […] Mountains are often looked on as the place where sky and earth meet, a ‘central point’ therefore, the point through which the Axis Mundi goes, a region impregnated with the sacred, a spot where one can pass from one cosmic zone to another. [17]
Connecting with the vertical axis mundi, Eliade noted the “shamanic geographic meridian” refers to a concept from indigenous and spiritual traditions, representing a “projection of the internal, centralized axis onto the Earth’s surface.” Believed to hold sacred or mystical significance, these meridians are thought to be aligned with cosmic forces, natural energies, and conduits to other realms of existence. Shamans, as spiritual guides or healers, are believed to be attuned to these energies, which they may use for healing, guidance, or ritual. In this context, the "meridian" is not merely a physical or geographical feature but a spiritual channel through which humans can connect to the deeper forces of the universe. Teams of skywatchers and surveyors initially marked these north-to-south meridian lines with wooden posts, which over time evolved into monolithic stone pillars and platforms signifying the celestial North and South Poles. [18]
In the pre-Colonial religions and mythologies of Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, the Quechuan term Apus referred to mountain spirits believed to dwell in solitary rocks and caves. Inge Bolin’s Rituals of Respect: The Secret of Survival in the High Peruvian Andes (1998), explains that these guardians of highland communities “were closely associated with the Sun and rulership.” [19]
Figure 16. Kimsa Chata or Kimsachata (Aymara and Quechua kimsa three, Pukina chata mountain, ”three mountains”, is a 8 km (5 mile) long volcanic complex on a north-south alignment along the border between Bolivia and Chile, overseeing Chungara Lake. CC By 3.0.
At Tiwanaku, the Taraco mountain range is visible to the north, while 15 kilometers (8.5 miles) to the south lies the Chilla-Kimsa Chata “three mountain” range. With three prominent peaks aligned from north to south, the highest, Kimsa Chata, reaches 4,725 meters (15,535 feet), and is flanked by Nasa Puqi to the north and Chuqi Ch'iwani to the south. The religious, cosmological, and cartographic significance of mountains in the Andean worldview makes it highly unlikely that the north alignment from the summit of Kimsa Chata crossing the Akapana pyramid in Tiwanaku occurred by chance.
The longitude of Kimsa Chata is 68°40′21″.94W, while the longitude of the Akapana pyramid is 68°40′21″.91W. The difference of just 0.03 seconds (or 0.0000833 degrees) between the two sites is so small that it strongly suggests intentional alignment and deliberate planning rather than coincidence. The 11.5 kilometer (7.15 mile) alignment, with such minimal variance, reinforces the idea that the ancient builders carefully oriented the Akapana pyramid along this north-south meridian (see Figure 18).
Figure 18: The Kimsa Chata meridian was used to locate the Semi-Subterranean Temple, the Kalasasaya and the Akapana pyramid, all of which align with the peak of this mountain.
Research suggests that this meridian-based planning significantly predates the construction of the Akapana pyramid, built between 300 and 700 CE. Extending the meridian line northward from the Akapana pyramid reveals that the eastern perimeter wall of the Kalasasaya complex was precisely constructed along the meridian, a feature dating back to between 200 BCE and 200 CE. This wall likely functioned not only as a ritual boundary or threshold but also as a symbolic alignment with Kimsa Chata, underscoring the mountain’s religious and cosmological importance as a primary water source central to Tiwanaku society.
In addition, only six meters (19.7 feet) east of the Kalasasaya perimeter wall, which follows the Kimsa Chata mountain-axis, lies the Semi-Subterranean Temple. According to professors Brian Bauer and Charles Stanish, this temple is “unique in its north-to-south orientation.” Unlike the predominantly east-west orientations typical of Andean ceremonial structures, this temple’s alignment with Kimsa Chata to the south suggests that early Tiwanaku builders deliberately used a sacred north-south axis as a foundational orientation in the city’s architecture.
FIG 19: Looking south from Tiwanaku, Kimsa Chata is the highest mountain peak on the southern horizon, symbolic of the sun and rulership, and its meridian was used to locate and orient the Semi-Sunken temple, Kalasasaya's east wall and the center of the Akapana pyramid.
The Akapana pyramid builders likely needed only to extend ropes along the Kalasasaya perimeter wall to establish a precise location for their temple, reinforcing the mountain-axis’s enduring significance across successive construction phases. This continuity in alignment reflects a sophisticated understanding of directional symbolism and the incorporation of prominent geographic features into Tiwanaku’s religious and ceremonial spaces. Such alignments reveal a profound synthesis of astronomy, geography, cosmology, and architecture, and enshrining the central role of Kimsa Chata within Tiwanaku’s sacred landscape.
To this day, Kimsa Chata holds deep spiritual significance for the Aymara people of Bolivia. It remains central to the annual Willkakuti festival, celebrated on the June solstice to mark the return of the sun, or Willkakuti, symbolizing the ancient Andean-Amazonic New Year. This festival is observed throughout Bolivia, Chile, and southern Peru. In Aymara cosmology, Kimsa Chata’s Apus (mountain spirit) is associated with powerful male fertility energies, in part due to the Tiwanaku River, which descends two of its ranges. Additionally, the Jacha Jawira River nourishes crops on Kimsa Chata’s southern slopes, further highlighting the mountain’s vital life-sustaining role in the region. [20]
Figure 17. During the Willkakuti festival Aymara people make offerings and sacrifices to the Apus of Kimsa Chata. CC By-SA 3.0.
Functionality of the Kimsa Chata Meridian
In the northern hemisphere, contemporary cultures often measured meridians to Polaris, the north star, around which the tundra revolves, to centralise their understanding of the cosmos. In contrast, at Tiwanaku, this celestial sentinel lies below the horizon. However, to the south, Kimsa Chata served as a vital visual marker for the polar axis, offering shamans a focal point for meditation, while surveyors and builders likely used it as a target for plumb bobs when establishing building alignments at new construction sites.
Several observations highlight the central role of the Kimsa Chata meridian in the planning of Tiwanaku. Not only does this alignment traverse the center of the Akapana pyramid, and define the eastern perimeter wall of the Kalasasaya complex, but it might also explain why the Semi-Subterranean Temple is described by researchers Brian Bauer and Charles Stanish as "unusually oriented along a north-south axis." This particular orientation suggests the temple may have been designed to facilitate shamanic journeys to Kimsa Chata, the axis mundi, allowing practitioners to connect with the distant mountain Apus. The meridian also appears to be significant in the placement of two 20-ton blocks (Figure 09), which feature stepped symbols resembling the Chilla-Kimsa Chata range. Positioned to the north of the Akapana, these blocks lie directly along the north to south alignment, further linking Kimsa Chata to the symbolic architecture and rituals of Tiwanaku.
Every day, as the sun crossed the meridian at noon, the alignment of Tiwanaku's sacred structures with the north-south mountain axis forged a profound connection between the city's rulers, priests, and the sun. When the sun passed directly over Kimsa Chata, it symbolically and visually linked the city to both its immediate landscape and the celestial realm, reinforcing the mountain's role as the axis mundi of Tiwanaku. This daily event embodied the union of the earthly and divine realms, harmonizing the ruler, priests, and community with the landscape, under the will of their solar deity.
By positioning and orienting their most sacred structures along this north-south axis, the builders not only reinforced the significance of the landscape in urban planning but also integrated celestial phenomena into the architectural, social and spiritual fabric of the city. The sun’s passage affirmed the divine sanction of the ruler and the religious order of Tiwanaku, reinforcing the sun’s central role in both the natural world and the social hierarchy. Therefore, successive generations of builders at Tiwanaku reflected, through architectural orientation and alignment, a worldview where celestial events and ritual converged to sustain the community’s spiritual connection to its environment and primary water source, Kimsa Chata, consolidating both temporal authority and cosmic order.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that the architectural layout of Tiwanaku was not only sophisticated in its use of geometry and celestial alignments but also imbued with profound spiritual and political symbolism. Tiwanaku plaza, the Kalasasaya, the Akapana pyramid, and Pumapunku are all located on the circumference of a circle reflecting a cosmological unity, with the Akapana situated precisely one kilometer from the plaza along the December solstice sunrise axis, and equidistant from Pumapunku, with the three sites forming an equilateral triangle.
The Kimsa Chata meridian is a key feature that appears to have guided the city’s orientations and ceremonial alignments, with the eastern wall of the Kalasasaya and the centre of the Akapana both lying on the mountain alignment. Furthermore, the “unusual” north-south orientation of the Semi-Subterranean Temple - likely a space for shamanic rituals - further illustrates the meridian alignment, linking the peak of Kimsa Chata with the structures and rituals of Tiwanaku.
The meridian alignment also enabled a daily spectacle as the sun crossed over Kimsa Chata, symbolically uniting the city’s rulers and spiritual leaders with their solar deity. This alignment between landscape, celestial order, and social hierarchy reinforced Tiwanaku’s worldview, where architecture, ritual, and cosmic events upheld both communal identity and temporal power. It is possible that a dynastic lineage of rulers or priests passed down knowledge of the meridian’s significance, with each generation of builders expanding its role in governing both earthly affairs and cosmic order.
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